Telecommunications traffic (e.g., voice and dam) typically originates at one end of a communications channel that is maintained either by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) or a Competitive Access Provider (CAP). If the destination of such telecommunications traffic is within the area served by the LEC or CAP, then that carrier or the combination of carriers transports the traffic over their circuits to the intended destination. However, if the destination of such traffic is, outside the service area of the LEC or CAP, then the carrier or combination of carriers transports the traffic to an Inter-Exchange Carrier (IXC), such as AT&T. The IXC transports the traffic over its network to a LEC or CAP serving the intended destination of such traffic.
For such traffic to be successfully transported, the carriers (i.e., the LEC and/or CAP and the IXC) collectively must provide conductivity (i.e., a completed transmission path) between the origin and end point of the traffic. For many industrial and commercial telecommunication subscribers, such conductivity is provided by interconnected circuits within the LEG and/or CAP and the IXC that have one or more channels that are dedicated to that subscriber. The number and nature of the circuits generally depend on the bandwidth required for the traffic being transmitted.
The process of selecting and interconnecting individual circuits to yield a completed transmission path is known in the an as provisioning. In the past, the process of provisioning dedicated circuits has been very laborious. When a subscriber needs a transmission path of a particular bandwidth, the subscriber generally makes the request to its primary communication carrier (either a LEC, CAP or IXC) nominally responsible for providing end-to-end transport. For example, if an IXC is the primary carrier, then it arranges with the appropriate LECs and/or CAPs to provide the necessary dedicated circuits within their respective networks to transport the traffic originating at the subscriber to the IXC and then from the IXC to the intended recipient. Invariably, delays occur between receipt of the subscriber's request for service and the provisioning by each carrier of its circuits dedicated to that subscriber. Indeed, several days or even several weeks may elapse before all of the carriers have provisioned the necessary circuits. In many instances, the subscriber may have critical deadlines, making such long delays intolerable.
Thus, there is a need for a method for provisioning dedicated circuits more rapidly.